1. Field of the Invention
At least one example in accord with the present invention relates generally to systems and methods for data center management, and more specifically, to systems and methods for managing the configuration of Network Critical Physical Infrastructure (NCPI) devices.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In response to the increasing demands of information-based economies, information technology networks continue to proliferate across the globe. One manifestation of this growth is the centralized network data center. A centralized network data center typically consists of various information technology equipment, collocated in a structure that provides network connectivity, electrical power and cooling capacity. Often the equipment is housed of specialized enclosures termed “racks” which integrate these communications, power and cooling elements. In some data center configurations, rows of racks are organized into hot and cold aisles to decrease the cost associated with cooling the information technology equipment. These characteristics make data centers a cost effective way to deliver the computing power required by many software applications.
Various processes and software applications, such as the InfraStruXure® Central product available from American Power Conversion by Schneider Electric of West Kingston, R.I., (APC) have been developed to aid data center personnel in configuring the operational behavior of NCPI devices located within a data center. Some of these tools allow users to adjust values assigned to one or more locally-stored, predefined settings of the NCPI device, and thereby affect how the NCPI device operates. Typically, these local, predefined settings were limited to a subset of the overall settings available for the NCPI device.